1. Technical Field
This disclosure is related to tongs for handling food items, and more particularly, to tongs having a spring-biased locking mechanism for controlling the degree to which the tongs can expand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Spring-biased tongs are commonly used to handle food items and other objects. In order to handle food items of various sizes, such tongs are generally configured to expand relatively wide. Consequently, the tongs can take up considerable amounts of space when not in use. Further, because the tongs are spring-biased towards a fully-open position, they can be difficult or cumbersome to use when handling or grasping relatively small food items or objects for which only a partially expanded position is needed. To address these concerns, some tongs include mechanisms for locking the tongs in a closed position or for limiting the degree to which the tongs can open. Examples of these tongs include those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,089,631; 7,086,676; 7,261,348; 7,316,434 and 7,448,660. However, while these tongs may provide some advantages with respect to storage and handling, the mechanisms for locking the tongs are prone to inadvertent disengagement and are cumbersome to operate.